Swiss bank UBS cuts 10,000 jobs in major restructuring

A US branch of Swiss banking giant UBS is among one of the top foreign-owned US election campaign donors.

Credit:

Fabrice Coffrini

Swiss bank UBS is axing 10,000 jobs worldwide as part of a major restructuring over the next three years.

The job cuts amount to 16 percent of the Zurich-based bank's current workforce of 64,000, UBS announced Tuesday.

In a letter to shareholders, the bank said it will ditch much of its trading business, and instead focus on its private bank and a smaller investment bank, Reuters reported.

"We will no longer operate to any significant extent in businesses where risk-adjusted returns cannot meet their cost of capital," a joint letter from UBS chairman Axel Weber and chief executive Sergio Ermotti said.

The bank was hard hit during the global financial crisis, losing $50 billion as well as the $2.3 billion lost last year by a rogue trader.

UBS reported a net loss of 2.17 billion Swiss francs ($2.3 billion) for the July to September period, mainly due to restructuring costs and charges related to its debt, The New York Times reported.

Last year, the bank announced a separate cut of 3,500 jobs.

"This decision has been a difficult one," Ermotti said in a statement. "Some reductions will result from natural attrition and we will take whatever measures we can to mitigate the overall effect. Throughout the process we will ensure that our people will be supported and treated with care."

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